A TWO WEEK YOGA + HIIT TRAINING PROGRAM YOU CAN DO FROM YOUR BEDROOM
A little addition to your fitness regime to spice things up or simply get back into some structure. Build your mobility, cardio endurance, and core and glute strength with some of our favourite exercises. All you need is a mat, two blocks and a pair of gliders or socks. We have included a training program for you to follow, along with demonstrations of each movement. Feel free to mix it up - add in some interval sprints at the end if you’re feeling extra!
THE MOVES
MOVE 1. V-UP
Start lying on your back, with your arms overhead, biceps framing the ears, lower back pressing into the mat and legs reaching forward with a block in between the ankles. Squeeze the heels into the block, point the feet and flex the toes. Using your lowest abdominals, simultaneously raise the legs and the arms to fold the body up into a v-position. Hands grab the block, then slowly lower back to the mat into the starting position. Repeat the motion to keep switching the block between hands and the ankles.
MOVE 2. PLANK WALK- BODY SAW
Start in a plank position, shoulders over wrists, body in one plane, gliders under the feet. Shift your plank backwards, hands crawl back and feet slide. Drop down onto your forearms (both at the same time if you can), saw the shoulders back as you glide the the feet, reverse the motion to come back to starting position. Glide the feet forward, come onto your hands into a high plank, walk the plank forward.
MOVE 3. ELEVATED PUSH-UP
Start in a high plank position, possibly with the hands elevated on blocks. The hips, shoulders and ankles are all in one plane and the back is long and flat. Find the mind muscle connection and full body engagement with lower ribs cinching in, backs of thighs reaching to ceiling and gaze looking forward past the fingertips. Lower down to a tricep push-up, elbows graze the rib cage. Press into the hands or blocks to push back up, hips and shoulders move as one. Modification: lower to your knees for the push-up.
MOVE 4. PLANK-PIKE-PUSH-UP
Find plank position with both feet on the gliders, high on the balls of the feet, squeezing the legs together. From here, using the lowest abdominals pike the hips high to bring the thighs in towards the chest, keeping as much length in the legs as possible. Reach the feet back into a plank position, lower into a tricep push-up, elbows graze the rib cage. Press into your hands, shoulders remain back and down, hips and shoulders move in one line to push up.
MOVE 5. MOON WALK
Find a lunge stance, front knee over the ankle, back leg long and strong, with the foot on the glider. Hips are neutral, core is engaged and inner thighs are magnetizing towards each other. Press into your front heel to pull the back knee in, keeping the shoulders over the hips, resisting the urge to lean forward, slowly push the leg back to straighten, and repeat. Really squeeze the glute of the front leg throughout the motion, move slow to feel fire.
MOVE 6. SWEEPS
Start in a bear hold position: hands under shoulders and knees under hips, hovering just off the ground. Press into your right hand, softly release the left hand off the floor, spin into the outer edge of left foot and shoot the right leg through, draw the right heel to seat and come back to starting position, switch sides.
MOVE 7. SINGLE LEG HIP BRIDGE
Start lying on your back with knees bent and soles of the feet on the floor, Place one foot on a block, and set up so your fingertips graze your heels. Press your weight down through the block and your arms strongly into the floor alongside your body as you lever the other leg long, straight into the sky with your foot pointed. Exhale to lower the hips all the way to the mat. Repeat. Advancement: at the end of your set you can finish with little leg circles with the lifted leg. Keep the hips lifted high and the core engaged.
MOVE 8. SPICY MOUTAIN CLIMBER
Start in a plank position (with one foot on the glider), heels pushing back, glutes engaged, back flat and shoulders over the wrists. With one foot on the glider (high on the ball of the foot) drive the other knee in towards the chest, keep the knee hovering and kick the foot back into the air as you use the opposite leg to slide the glider forward to pull the knee into the chest, and switch. Keep your body weight forward with your shoulders over wrists the entire time, and got for speed and lightness. Hips stay lifted throughout the movement to maintain core engagement. Slow it down for more burn.
MOVE 9. HEADSTAND LEG LOWER AND LIFT
Come into a headstand - from a tabletop position, drop down onto your forearms and interlace the fingertips to create a nest for the crown of your head, place the crown of the head in that space with the hands supporting the back of the head, slight tuck of chin to chest here to keep the neck long. Once you feel comfortable in this stance, press into the forearms to engage the shoulder girdle and tuck your toes under and lengthen your legs, work to tip toe the feet in towards the hands till your hips are over your shoulders. Keep the engagement of the core and maybe you find lightness in the feet, possibly lifting one leg off the mat and scissoring the legs together to find the full posture. If you are in a headstand, find your leg lower and lift. Squeeze the legs together, point the feet, flex the toes and keep the core engagement to lower half way and lift back up, repeat. Modification: leg lower and lift, lying on your back.
MOVE 10. LIZARD LUNGE
From hands and knees, step your right foot outside your right hand,slide the back knee slightly further back to find the stretch in the front of the left hip. Press the right hand into the right knee, using the breath here to find more depth, stay for five breaths and possibly reach the right fingertips back to find the outside edge of the left foot, melting into the posture and sinking into the breath.
